Hatch to Tour Utah Crime Lab with Ed and Elizabeth Smart
Salt Lake City—Next Thursday Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will tour the Utah Crime Lab with Ed and Elizabeth Smart at 10 AM on Thursday July 6th. Both the tour and a brief media availability after will be open to media.
One focus of the tour will be on the use of DNA evidence to solve complex crimes. Senator Hatch has introduced legislation called the Rapid DNA Act, which will allow crime labs to rapidly process the DNA of individuals arrested for crimes. Law enforcement experts believe that this technology has the potential to revolutionize the way in which individuals arrested for crimes are enrolled in the criminal justice system by expediting the exoneration of innocent suspects and dramatically reducing the time required for suspects’ DNA to be linked to unsolved crimes.
Jay Henry, State Lab Director at the Utah Crime Lab wrote an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune in support of Hatch’s Rapid DNA legislation.
Hatch Introduces Bill to Incentivize Development of Treatments for Rare Diseases
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior Republican in the United States Senate, introduced the Orphan Product Extensions Now Accelerating Cures and Treatments Act (OPEN ACT) of 2017. The OPEN ACT would build on the success of the Orphan Drug Act to provide incentives to increase market potential for companies that repurpose previously approved drugs for the treatment of rare diseases. Repurposing drugs is typically faster, cheaper, and safer than traditional drug development.
“Since Congressman Henry Waxman and I first championed the Orphan Drug Act in 1983, helping medical innovators treat rare diseases has remained among my top priorities,” Hatch said. “This bill is a natural step in expanding that effort to close the gap for rare diseases that do not have treatments. My proposal builds on past work to ensure that rare disease patients have access to the treatments they need.”
Background
Complex rare diseases with small patient populations have limited market potential, so there are few economic incentives to develop new drugs targeting rare conditions. The Orphan Drug Act was a successful first step towards addressing this issue, and led to numerous new lifesaving technologies. While there are 7,000 rare diseases that impact 30 million Americans, 95 percent of these diseases still have no treatments.
The OPEN ACT, S. 1509, would provide an additional six months of market exclusivity to drugs that are repurposed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat rare diseases. This law would apply to currently approved drugs that are still under patent. The six-month extension would be in addition to other types of exclusivity, such as pediatric or qualified infectious disease product exclusivity.
The OPEN ACT is supported by 224 patient organizations. See the full list of patient organizations here.
Who:
Senator Orrin Hatch
Ed and Elizabeth Smart
What:
Tour of Utah Crime Lab, highlighting how DNA evidence helps solve crimes.
When:
Thursday July 6, 2017 at 10 AM
Where:The
Utah State Crime Lab, Salt Lake City
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===Hatch calls for Josh Holt's release at 1-year anniversary of arrest in Venezuela
Washington, D.C.—Today marks one year since Utahn Joshua Holt was arrested on false charges in Venezuela. Since the day Josh was taken into custody, Senator Hatch has worked tirelessly to engage government officials at all levels in both the Trump and Obama administrations in an effort to have Josh released and returned home to the United States.
In a statement, Hatch said, “This Friday marks one year since Josh Holt was unjustly taken captive in Venezuela. This is an important time to remind Josh and his family that we are still anxiously engaged in the fight for his freedom.” Hatch has called on President Maduro to release Josh and Thamy and has asked for help from Utahns and local and national media to spread the word about Josh’s case.
(Video Excerpt of Senator Hatch’s Statement -- Via YouTube)
Full text of Senator Hatch’s remarks on video:
This Friday marks one year since Josh Holt was unjustly taken captive in Venezuela. It’s a devastating anniversary, but an important time to remind Josh and his family that we are still anxiously engaged in the fight for his freedom.
Venezuela is in the midst of tremendous civil turmoil, which has complicated the fragile diplomatic waters of getting Josh released.
From the time of his arrest last June, I’ve enlisted help from every level of government, and I’m confident our diplomatic efforts will pay off in time. I remain in regular communication about Josh’s case with Secretary of State Tillerson, Undersecretary Shannon—who I met with just this week—and officials at every level of government here and in Venezuela.
But at this time, I ask you to join Elaine and me in remembering Josh, his lovely wife Thamy, his parents Laurie and Jason, and the Holt family and friends in your prayers.
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Hatch Introduces Bill to Incentivize Development of Treatments for Rare Diseases
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior Republican in the United States Senate, introduced the Orphan Product Extensions Now Accelerating Cures and Treatments Act (OPEN ACT) of 2017. The OPEN ACT would build on the success of the Orphan Drug Act to provide incentives to increase market potential for companies that repurpose previously approved drugs for the treatment of rare diseases. Repurposing drugs is typically faster, cheaper, and safer than traditional drug development.
“Since Congressman Henry Waxman and I first championed the Orphan Drug Act in 1983, helping medical innovators treat rare diseases has remained among my top priorities,” Hatch said. “This bill is a natural step in expanding that effort to close the gap for rare diseases that do not have treatments. My proposal builds on past work to ensure that rare disease patients have access to the treatments they need.”
Background
Complex rare diseases with small patient populations have limited market potential, so there are few economic incentives to develop new drugs targeting rare conditions. The Orphan Drug Act was a successful first step towards addressing this issue, and led to numerous new lifesaving technologies. While there are 7,000 rare diseases that impact 30 million Americans, 95 percent of these diseases still have no treatments.
The OPEN ACT, S. 1509, would provide an additional six months of market exclusivity to drugs that are repurposed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat rare diseases. This law would apply to currently approved drugs that are still under patent. The six-month extension would be in addition to other types of exclusivity, such as pediatric or qualified infectious disease product exclusivity.
The OPEN ACT is supported by 224 patient organizations. See the full list of patient organizations here.
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In Fox News Interview, Hatch Repeats Call for Civility
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate spoke on Fox News tonight about the need for more civility in our politics. He took the opportunity to praise a number of his Democrat colleagues, and discussed the importance of working together to solve America’s greatest problems
Yesterday he published an op-ed in TIME on the subject.
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Hatch Introduces Legislation to Combat Cybercrime
Washington, D.C.—Following a worldwide cyberattack last month that affected more than 300,000 computers, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)—the Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force—introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to thwart future cyberattacks against U.S. computer networks. The Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act instructs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish a publicly accessible set of voluntary best practices for good cyber hygiene.
“With cybercriminals growing bolder in their attacks, strengthening our cybersecurity infrastructure remains one of my top priorities in the Senate,” Hatch said. “Cyberattacks threaten our economy and inflict untold damage on thousands of Americans. Fortunately, proper cyber hygiene can prevent many of these attacks. This bill will establish best practices for cyber hygiene that will help Americans better protect themselves from enemies online.”
WannaCry, the ransomware that locked thousands of computers in more than 150 countries, took advantage of a software vulnerability that was known and patchable since March of this year. Organizations and individuals practicing good cyber hygiene by installing updates in a timely manner may have been able to dramatically limit the impact of this attack. While the United States was not as severely affected as other countries by this particular attack, our country is still vulnerable to cyber threats. Cyber hygiene best practices must be a key part of the overall national defense strategy.
The Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act would help both system administrators and consumers better protect their networks and devices against known cyber threats by:
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